European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called for \u201cunited action\u201d on border security after the chaotic influx of tens of thousands of migrants from Morocco into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spain \u2060estimates that about 69,500 migrants \u200bhave now returned to Morocco, exceeding initial estimates of 50,000. The official death toll on the Spanish side of the border stands at 72, with 11 deaths on the Moroccan side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Tuesday, EU interior ministers will have emergency talks by video conference to discuss the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The scenes in Ceuta have strained relations among some of the EU\u2019s 27 member states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a letter to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez, von der Leyen praised his \u201cswift handling\u201d of the crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But she added: \u201cFrom this incident, it is clear that we must do more to further strengthen our borders at critical points.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In response to the Ceuta crossings, Italy temporarily suspended the Schengen arrangement with Spain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Schengen agreement eliminates border checks and now encompasses more than 450 million people and 29 countries in Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finland and Denmark backed Italy\u2019s move, while Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babi\u0161 urged a temporary suspension of Spain\u2019s Schengen membership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In response, S\u00e1nchez said he had \u201cserious concerns\u201d about some European governments and pointed out that Ceuta was not part of the Schengen area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While most had shown \u201csupport and solidarity\u201d, he said other European governments had chosen to attack Spain, \u201cdriven by prejudice, fake news, ignorance, or political interest\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In her letter to the Spanish PM, von der Leyen warned that \u201cthe protection of all our external borders is a shared European responsibility\u201d, while calling for \u201cvigilant monitoring and the use of physical barriers where needed\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tuesday\u2019s video conference will be a chance to draw \u201clessons\u201d from the Ceuta episode, von der Leyen said, warning the challenges of illegal immigration require \u201ca common European response, united action and solidarity\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She urged the EU to \u201cdouble down\u201d in five areas: preventing irregular migration in the first place via cooperation with partner states; strengthening external borders; implementing early warning systems; dismantling smuggling networks and reinforcing returns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
S\u00e1nchez has accused migrant traffickers of exploiting a decision recently made by the country\u2019s supreme court which constrained the government\u2019s right to immediately deport people who had arrived by sea.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called for \u201cunited action\u201d on border security after the chaotic influx of tens of thousands of migrants from Morocco into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta last week. Spain \u2060estimates that about 69,500 migrants \u200bhave now returned to Morocco, exceeding initial estimates of 50,000. The official death toll…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":5334,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"postBodyCss":"","postBodyMargin":[],"postBodyPadding":[],"postBodyBackground":{"backgroundType":"classic","gradient":""},"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,3,45],"tags":[140,141],"class_list":["post-5333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics","category-world-news","tag-eu","tag-migrant"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t